Martin faces McCollum with playoffs on its mind

Jose Castaneda and Martin will take on the McCollum Cowboys Friday at Shirley Field at 7:30 p.m. The Tigers have three regular-season games left to clinch a playoff spot.

Jose Castaneda and Martin will take on the McCollum Cowboys Friday at Shirley Field at 7:30 p.m. The Tigers have three regular-season games left to clinch a playoff spot.

Photo: Danny Zaragoza /Laredo Morning Times File

Photo: Danny Zaragoza /Laredo Morning Times File

Image
1of/1

Caption

Close

Image 1 of 1

Jose Castaneda and Martin will take on the McCollum Cowboys Friday at Shirley Field at 7:30 p.m. The Tigers have three regular-season games left to clinch a playoff spot.

Jose Castaneda and Martin will take on the McCollum Cowboys Friday at Shirley Field at 7:30 p.m. The Tigers have three regular-season games left to clinch a playoff spot.

Photo: Danny Zaragoza /Laredo Morning Times File

Martin faces McCollum with playoffs on its mind

1 / 1

Back to Gallery

Martin has come close to making the playoffs over the past few seasons, but have always fallen short. This year, however, head coach David Charles believes the Tigers have the ability to finally get over that hurdle. And Friday, Martin will continue that journey.

Martin sits in a three-way tie for second place in District 14-5A-1 with Harlandale and Harlan with all three teams 2-1 in league play. But before the Tigers play those two teams — the Indians and Hawks are the Red & White’s last two opponents — they must play McCollum.

It has been five seasons since Martin has been to the playoffs and a win over the Cowboys would keep the Tigers’ hopes for the postseason alive with three games remaining.

Due to the reclassification of districts this year, this will be the first time Martin (4-3, 2-1 District 14-5A-1) meets McCollum (1-7, 1-3) as district opponents at Shirley Field Friday at 7:30 p.m. In fact, this will be the first time the Tigers will play the Cowboys in general.

“They are a very well-coached team,” Charles said. “They have a good quarterback and a sound defense. We expect a tough team.

“They have gotten better and better every week.”

Cowboys quarterback sophomore Ryan Ramirez is 85 of 164 for 902 yards, eight touchdowns and six interceptions this season. His go-to receiver has been senior Eric Laija, who has caught 22 passes for 488 yards and three touchdowns.

McCollum is sixth in the district. Its lone win came two weeks ago against Southwest Legacy, 38-26. Other than that, the Cowboys haven’t been overly competitive. In the seven other games, they have allowed an average of 31 points while only scoring seven.

Martin runs a ground-based offense — it only throws on average 10-15 passes per game. This year, the Tigers are rushing for at least 209 yards per game, and with the way McCollum’s run defense has looked lately, it could be another a run-heavy game Friday.

Over the last four games, the Cowboys have allowed at least 230.8 yards on the ground. With running backs Jose Castaneda and Daniel Martinez along with quarterback Mathew Duron at the Tigers’ disposal — all three have eclipsed 300-plus yards this season — don’t be surprised if Martin leans on its running game.

However, even though the Tigers are a run-heavy team, don’t expect them to abandon their passing game altogether. Over the last four games, Duron has thrown for 529 of his 724 passing yards.

“We are going to run whatever we need to run according to our gameplan,” Charles said. “We feel we have a very unique offense that forces teams to play different schemes.

“It’s a combination of a lot things. Mat and the offensive line are gaining confidence. Not only that, but all of our receivers have improved. At first it was just it was just Jorge (Castaneda) catching all the passes. But lately though, Miguel Sanchez and Juan Lara have stepped up.”

While Sanchez and Lara only combine for 70 of Martin’s receiving yards, they have all came in the last four games.

These last three weeks will be crucial to the Tigers’ playoff chances. One slip up could result in them missing the postseason. So even though McCollum has won only one game, Martin knows it needs to play its best Friday.

“These three weeks are vital,” Charles said. “This is where championship teams separate themselves. It doesn’t get any easier after McCollum. Our hands are going to be full. You have to bring your ‘A’ game. Even teams at the bottom of our district create problems. But it should be a fun end to the season.”